SMO Chapter 5.3 : Back to Back

As they head towards town, some nearby players began looking at the Frostform Wolf that followed LacX.

'Master, are you perhaps loved among the humans?' Mana tilts her head.

"No, they're not looking at me. They're looking at you, since you're a Creature, and a High Rank one as well. The Wolf Creatures are generally E to C Rank around here, but that doesn't seem like the case for you. I couldn't 'Appraise' your Rank, or Level for that matter." LacX tries again, bud doesn't succeed.

'Master has "Appraisal"? You must be very strong, considering the damage you did to the Large Silverwind Wolf.'

'So "Appraisal" is something only strong people get? I should see if I can find a Library, so that I can learn the norm for SMO.' LacX looks through his skills again, and saw that some of his skill levels rose, mostly Sprint and Appraisal.

Arriving to Town, some Guards immediately stopped him.

"Stop. What is that Wolf, and will it cause trouble?" The Guard looks at Mana, then back at LacX.

"Sorry. This is my Tamed Creature, and she is a Frostform Wolf. I guarantee that she won't cause trouble. If she does, then I will take full responsibility." After saying that, the Guards looked at eachother, then stood at ease.

"Get her checked in at the Guild. If you don't, then she will be known as a 'Free' Creature, and will be hunted by others. Make sure she also wears a form of recognition to inform others that they are 'Tamed'. The Guard moves aside, letting LacX and Mana through.

"I'll make sure to get something for that. Thank you for the warning."

. . .

Heading towards the Guild, Mana continuously looks around in amazement and curiosity. After looking around, her eyes stop on a Food Stall that was selling Steak and Kabobs.

Noticing, LacX walks over and buys a Steak and 2 Kabobs.

"Here you go, eat up boy." The Stall Vendor had a smile on his face the whole time.

Walking back, he offers the Steak to Mana.

"Here, a Gift. We should head to the Guild after we eat."

Mana takes the Steak within less than a Second, then devours it. LacX hasn't even taken a bite of his Kabob.

'Delicious! Can we get more?' She wags her tail.

"We can get some after we finish up at the guild." As he takes a bite, he finds something that caught his eye.

Walking over to a Stall, he purchased a Leather Collar.

"Mana, here. This is another gift, and will keep you safe from Hunters." Putting the Collar on Mana, she glows with delight.

. . .

Making it to the Guild, a Man flies out the door.

Not knowing what to do, LacX just spectates, and Mana was on edge, ready to attack at a moment's notice.

"And That is what you get for trying to pick up a Guild Receptionist." Lisa walks out the door.

"Oh, LacX! How are yo-" She cut herself off, and looks at the Wolf behind him.

'Oh boy, here we go.' Scratching his head, he starts with introductions.

"Mana, this is Lisa, the Guild Receptionist. Now Lisa, this is Mana, my Tamed Creature. I met her in the Forest."

Not knowing what to say, she stays there, stunned. The Man who was thrown out attempted to take the chance to attack. Almost immediately, he was grabbed, flipped, then slammed onto the ground, being knocked unconscious in the process.

Snapping out of it, Lisa regains her composure, realizing that she also flipped the man over.

"Ok, I think we should have a talk after we get your Tame registered, ok?" With a sinister look, she looks directly at LacX.

"Y-yeah, sounds good." Half Worried and Half Terrified at what's to come next, he walks over the Man, and into the Guild.

. . .

After registering Mana, she was given a Nametag with her Name, Guild Rank, and Owner Name on it. It fit perfectly on her new Collar.

"Now, with that done, please follow me upstairs." Lisa leaves the counter, and heads up the stairs with LacX and Mana close behind.

Entering an empty room, Lisa sits in on one side of the room, which had a Coffee Table in the Center, with Sofas on each side.

LacX sits on the opposite side, while Mana roams around and sniffs the objects around the room.

"Now, care to explain?" Lisa sits with a smile.

"Well, let's just say, due to some circumstances, I happened upon a pack if Silverwind Wolves, and those Wolves were chasing Mana, who is a Frostform Wolf. And after helping her, we ate lunch, only to be interrupted by a strangely Large Silverwind Wolf. We were able to take it out thanks to Mana's Ice Magic and my Agility." Not knowing how to react, Lisa sits with a blank stare, attempting to process what he said.

After processing the information, she finally begins to speak.

"Wait, did you say Frostform Wolf?"

"Yes, I did. What about it?"

"A Frostform Wolf only lives in Cold Climates with their Pack, and never leave the Snow. Why was there one in the Forest?"

Mana hears this, and answers in kind.

'I was captured. To be frank, I was a fool to think that I could defeat Ten Humans all at once. If it were Nine, I could have stayed. I broke out when my Mana recovered. After that, well, those Silverwind Wolves chased me for a while. You know the rest.' Mana sits next to LacX on the sofa.

After relaying what Mana said to Lisa, she inhales, and continues with the next question.

"Now, about the Large Wolf, did it use extremely strong magic?"

"It was stronger than the Magic that the Smaller ones used. It surprisingly had a really quick Cast Speed for it's Size."

"If that is so, then I believe that you exterminated the Pack Leader, who is One Rank lower than the Clan Leader. Do you have any proof if of the Extermination?"

LacX takes the Large Fang and the Silvertooth Dagger from his Bag.

Nearly fainting from the shock, Lisa slumps.

"You got not just the Drop, but a Rare Drop too?!" Lisa inspects the Fang.

"I did, and I don't know anything about this Dagger." Picking up the dagger, Lisa takes out an Appraisal Orb, practically out of thin air.

Using the Orb, the basic Information was shown.

[Appraisal]

[Name : Silvertooth Dagger]

[Rarity : Rare]

[Element : Wind]

<Description : A Dagger that can gather Wind if supplied with MP. The more MP, the Sharper the Cuts of Wind that are released upon Swing>

"Wind Element?" LacX takes the dagger, and puts in 1 MP.

A small amount of Wind started gathering around the blade.

"Hey! Don't start using an Elemental Weapon like that!" Lisa jumps behind the Sofa for cover.

"Sorry! Should I release it through the Window?" Not knowing what would happen if he let go, he walked up to the window.

"Yes, that should be fine. Don't use it indoors. That would be bad, in more ways than one."

Opening the Window, LacX swings the blade, making the gathered Wind fly through the sky until it dispersed.

After he did that, he got a message from the System, telling him that his Daily Copies have been reset.

'So it's midnight. Time sure flies by when you are picking herbs and hunting.'

Remembering about the Herbs, he takes out the Wisp Willow.

"Will this win me the First Round?"

Almost forgetting about the Fang, Lisa puts it down, and inspects the Herb.

"Wait, isn't this a Wisp Willow?" Inspecting it more carefully, she didn't seem as surprised as the last 2 Items.

"Yup. I found it while I was out searching for a Herb that would win me the Quest. I found Two of them, but the First one was a Bud, and hasn't Bloomed yet. This one had a Rabbit Corpse next to it, probably from the Wolves."

After Lisa Appraised the Herb, a Sound can be heard from the Town Square, indicating that the 1st Part of the Event was coming to a close.

"We should go. The Event Quest seems to be ending soon. Let's go." LacX takes the Items and puts them back into the Bag.

"Wait, are you sure you don't want to at least sell the Fang? You could sell it for a couple of Silver Coins." Lisa hands the Fang and Herb back.

"Maybe next time. I wanna see what's happening outside, so come on."

. . .

"Thank you all for participating in the First Event! Have you all done well?" The Announcer was cheered at, and he just kept his smile.

LacX and Mana found a spot near the Crowd, which was once again on a Building, but this time they just stood on the Roof.

"Now, we will announce the Winner of today's First Round of this event!"

A Window appeared in front of LacX, which asked him to Submit his Herb. Doing So, the Herb disappears from his hands, and was shown on a Large Screen in th Square.

He was in First.

After the results finished, the Top 3 were announced.

[Winners]

[1st : LacX (Rank-B Wisp Willow)]

[2nd : Gromon (Rank-C Spore Moss)]

[3rd : Ven (Rank-C Ripple Lotus {Bud})]

"Well now, with that said, the Rewards will now be distributed. All Participants will get 10 Silver, and the Top Three will get a Special Reward depending on their Place."

The Large Screen Changed, showing the Rewards for the Top 3.

[Rewards]

[1st : Skll Orb (Storage Rank-F)]

[2nd : Mana Band]

[3rd : Tiny Wind Crystal]

After the Rewards were said, one more Window popped up.

[Quest Complete]

[Rewards]

<Storage Acquired>

[Acquired 10 Silver]

'Storage? Seems Useful. I'll test it out later.'

And now, we reveal the Location of the Second Part of the Event!"

The Large Screen changed again, showing the Location on a Map.

"Just South of here is a Fishing Town, known as Mardeal. Go there by Tomorrow, and at Midday, the Next Event will be Revealed! I bid you farewell, and to you all a Good Day!" The Announcer suddenly disappears, leaving everyone in both Confusion and Anticipation.

"Well, time to get ready Mana, 'cause we're headed to Mardeal."

. . .